BlogU

  • Motherhood After Tenure: Michelle Obama’s Dress

    By Aeron Haynie November 6, 2008 6:18 am

    Of all the possible reactions to Barack Obama’s historical victory this week, I wasn’t prepared for a lead story about the black and red dress Michelle Obama wore to her husband’s acceptance in Chicago. If you read the comments (and I’m not suggesting you do; the punctuation alone will drive you mad) you’ll find a pathological animosity toward the next first lady’s appearance: her teeth, her size, how she walks, how she stands. It’s not just her dress many commentors hate, it’s her physicality itself. If it weren’t so horrifying, it might be amusing to read commentors’ struggles to put their fingers on exactly what is wrong with Michelle Obama (her choice of pantyhose, one comment suggests?) There’s just something inexplicable about her (um, her race) that rubs some folks the wrong way.

    While many of the negative comments about Michelle Obama are clearly racist, the fact that this racism is directed at her physical appearance suggests the ways that women’s competence or legitimacy is often judged in terms of appearance. This seemingly trivial topic has vexed both sides of this campaign. In a recent essay in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Rose Stremlau argues that the “vulgar and crass” public comments about Sarah Palin represent an inability “to accept female authority on its own merits.” Stremlau goes on to make a comparison between how female politicians are treated and how female professors are often sexualized by students—with inappropriate student comments on evaluations (like “nice ass”) becoming a part of one’s professional record.

    Opinions about how female professors should best dress vary. The impeccable Ms. Mentor generally counsels untenured women to avoid drawing attention to their bodies/sexuality. While this is pragmatic advice, it misses the point: Women with public authority will always be subjected to intense scrutiny and judgment. If you wear a navy suit, you still face comments about makeup (or lack thereof), weight, and cleavage.

    When I started teaching, I wore short dresses and clunky heels. While pregnant I stood in the front of the class and rubbed my belly. I expect I will revel in my gray hair, although the persona of crone may be harder to pull off than Madonna or whore. After all, older women are invisible in popular discourse.

    So maybe that’s why I relish the sight of Michelle Obama, slightly awkward but firmly herself, unapologetically tall and womanly. And while there is so much more to our future first lady than her looks, I think she’s a beautiful sight.

Go to comments (3) »
Advertisement
On the Job Market Together?

Comments on Motherhood After Tenure: Michelle Obama’s Dress

  • good points
  • Posted by Ann Little , Associate Professor at Colorado State University on November 6, 2008 at 4:45pm EST

  • Nice post, Aeron. We've been talking about that Rose Stremlau article for the past few days at Historiann.com. I am disappointed, but not surprised, to hear the criticism that Michelle Obama has received (and the chorus will of course only get louder, unfortunately, now that she's on her way to the White House.)

    I too think that Ms. Mentor's advice is well meant but a little clueless. Students make comments about women's appearance no matter what faculty do or don't wear. Their comments are meant to discipline women who presume to profess and wield authority. That's what it's all about.

  • Ugly dress
  • Posted by Marla Fisher on November 11, 2008 at 2:05pm EST

  • Personally I thought the dress was ugly with a capital UGH. That's not because I'm a racist but because people care what women wear, and she obviously had the dress specially made and altered from its original appearance just for the occasion. That gives me leave to comment on it whether academics like it or not.

  • I agree
  • Posted by OEAD , PhD Student/Teaching Assistant at University of Leicester on April 17, 2009 at 7:45am EDT

  • I think that Michelle always look nice when we see her. I will agree though that I do find it troubling that the key focus on her is on her looks, how she stands, if she hugs the Queen, (or not), etc. Meanwhile, her profile reads a lot better than her husband's! Cherie Blair faced the same porblem when her husband was PM.

    While Sarah Palin was not the best VP candidate, again her treatment by mainstream media was grossly unfair.

    I personally think that this sort of thing will go on. If someone's race is not used as a weapon, their race or ethnicity will be. Sad, but it seems to be the human condition.

Print
© Copyright 2009 Inside Higher Ed